Hardware decoding steam link How is it at you? Windows 10 FX-8350 2x 7970 Crossfire 16gb ram Don't know how to find out which decoding method is used in either case and thus if it is indeed an issue of VAAPI DRM hardware decoding vs VAAPI tiled hardware decoding as @SaltyBet suggested. 81 ms. This is from pressing a button on the controller to a response on the screen. Steam Link > General Discussions > Topic Details. Here is a video showing the glitches: https: Anyways, after trying out Moonlight it seems entirely possible to stream 4K to my TV from my PC, but the Steam Link app / remote play is unable to do so. AMD drivers are updated as of several days ago. Having carefully eliminated likely causes, it seems that the latency could be due to the video decoder. 5 s, so the experience is very choppy. When I use the steam link app on my phone or laptop with default settings (i even tried enabling/disable hardware decoding on my laptop), everything seemingly works perfectly. 1), Windows 10 and the latest Steam Beta. HEVC is in Client Since /r/steamlink is private and potentially inactive, this is a place to discuss and share your experiences with the Steam Link hardware and Steam In-Home Streaming! Latest Steam OS 3. Enable hardware encoding on NVIDIA GPU Once optimized, Steam Link latency comes to within one frame of GameStream. I'm just wondering, what is the logic behind this performance boost? I assumed the steam link must use hardware decoding by design. < > Showing 1-15 of 27 comments . I'm trying to use Remote Play to stream from my Windows computer to my Deck, but I've encountered two different issues depending on the decoding method: Hardware decoding: Provides correct color accuracy, but there is jittering/stuttering. The normal Steam client has an option to disable hardware decoding. By default Steam Link is using "Raspberry Pi hardware decoding" however if I Update after update I fire up my Steam Deck looking forward to go test Remote Play with Hardware Decoding enabled expecting to work without stutters, but 1 year after owning the OLED, it is still pretty bad. SHIELD Configuration: Steam Link app. the guest/streaming machine doesn't actually have hardware decoding (a problem with many laptops that are either super cheap, or ~3+ years old) and the CPU is having trouble keeping up with the 1080p/60 stream, or 2) Is hardware acceleration enabled for Steam Linux clients? The built-in browser and interface will be driven by the same thing. However, it is very laggy. At this point, the Steam Link app from the smart TV itself works way better and this does not make any sense at all. Oct 27, 2016 The Steam link hardware will always do hardware decoding. To all the fellow new Steam Link users having no Intel CPU but a rather recent AMD graphics card: The first two days after I got my Steam Link I was very disappointed because of the bad streaming performance and I was already considering to send it back, until I realized that the performance loss was due to my AMD GPU hardware encoding not working! Before enabling Do note that without HEVC (1920x1060 60fps) Steam Link works fine (both with and without AMD hardware encoding) Last edited by CaptainMacTavish; Dec 22, 2020 @ 5:23pm < > Showing 1-3 of 3 comments (- the Raspberry Pi is using its dedicated Hardware Decoding) - Client hardware encoding on/off (Doesn't seem to do anything, I'm struggling a bit getting Steam to do hardware decoding on my Intel NUC (DN2820). I'm using a GTX 1080 on the host. 264 hardware encoder. As it messes with how I use my Steam Deck, I am experimenting with patching the feature back in, to not be stuck on version 3. Hardware decoding is helpful when streaming your game using Steam Remote Play. ReBoot. Fixed a case where group chats could get stuck on "Requesting Group Chat Information" after reconnecting to Steam; Steam Input. Encoding lag dropped to 0, and no more stutters / skipping. The CPU is running at 60-70%, I assume its having to do the decoding. Enable VA-API DRM hardware decoding on Linux; I've heard previously that the official Steam Link hardware struggles to do anything above 1080p for the record, even if your host PC can do 1440p or 4k. I've been trying to get hardware decoding working on my setup, without much success. Any help is greatly appreciate. Chromium in the Arch repository fortunately is built with VAAPI support, but you need to enable it manually. it shows something like 10% 'Frame Loss' just sitting in the steam big picture mode. The application does not detect hardware acceleration. Thanks for the feedback! Can you shut down Steam, delete the logs folder, then start Steam and do a short session where you hear crackling and then post the contents of logs/streaming_log. I hope this helps clear it up some more. 3. I got an old Radeon HD5550 and it's working quite right with my Link, playing non-demanding coop games. Its pretty well just ok but not as fast on my old Intel mac which did allow hardware decoding. Am I comparing apples to apples here? If yes, why is Steam Link so much higher and is there anything I can do? I already played around with the Steam Link settings and picked what seemed to be the best options. Does it have to do anything with games performance ? Hey all. What is Hardware Video Decoding in the Interface options I know Hardware decoding is set in in home streaming seperatly so what is it used for? Big Picture Mode? If its for Broadcasting why not have it in broadcast options. 4 Preview breaks hardware decoding in remote play. Not sure, I have been running preview to get rid of the issue where it would crash the Deck using Steam Link to stream FROM the Deck. Which is a shame. co/Y7sV4qZ Sorry for the image in spanish, that was disable to Since /r/steamlink is private and potentially inactive, this is a place to discuss and share your experiences with the Steam Link hardware and Steam In-Home Streaming! If your host has hardware encoding and your client has hardware decoding then you should be fine at 4k, no problem. My Steam Link and Android Steam Link apps work just fine with no notable latency problem, so something is definitely wrong with the Steam Deck's Hardware Decoding option. I am encountering an issue regarding the streaming quality using the steam link flatpak compared with the stream client. I was browsing through my Steam settings recently when I found the following checkbox: What is hardware video decoding, (Also, this in general is what "hardware decoding" in terms of graphics will refer to, so you can watch out for Enabling or disabling hardware encoding can improve the quality of your stream depending on the graphics card you own. I’ve noticed that if I use hardware encoding latency is about 35-40ms, but if I turn hardware encoding off it drops to about 12ms. Using Parsec I get good results again as it will make use of HEVC hardware decoding. I’m sure I’m not the only one noticing it. Last edited by CGar; Apr 21, 2022 @ 7:42pm < > Showing Only disabling Hardware decoding on the Steam Deck makes colors brighter (although they seem a bit too bright compared to how the game looks natively on TV or Deck). dannyhefc69. - Tick "Enable Hardware Decoding" There's also settings on your Steam Link itself (either hardware box or TV app) to cap the framerate, which I set to 60. I'm doing my best to optimize my streaming performance from my PC to my Steam Link, and it doesn't help that the In-Home Streaming settings can be vague about what they do. This issue is widespread for Steam Deck users: See: Hardware decode problem vaapi streetpea/chiaki-ng#63 The Steam Link app offers the same three quality presets as the TV hardware. it shows"streaming VR requires HEVC hardware encoding". Edit 3: Tested with iOS and MacBook Pro devices. My display even switches to HDR automatically once I start the stream from within Moonlight, so something appears to be not working properly with Steam the latest Steam Link Beta for tvOS. I tried both H264 & H265 HEVC in the app settings, and used both soft- and hardware encoding on the host without any All modern GPUs from AMD, NVIDIA, and Intel should support hardware decoding of H. When remote streaming any games from my Windows PC, Steam falls back on software decoding of the video stream using libavcodec instead of hardware acceleration, killing my performance. I assume this is the equivalent to the streaming latency. So the hardware in the Surface Pro would be the determining factor, and I think the Surface only has Intel's iGPU. “Fast I use my PC to stream to the Steam Link app on my Apple TV. It works but not with 'Hardware decoding' enable (black screen). 04 with Steam Link not using or giving the option for hardware acceleration. J. Fixed middle-click panning not working in overlay browser on Windows. In order to make sure that AMD GPU hardware encoding is working, enable the client performance information (available in BPM or in Steam Link settings when not connected yet), press START+Y ingame and search Please help for Steam Link Hardware! The hardware decoding option won't stay off and overwrites the settings from the host when starting the remote play. Hi. Is there any way to get this fixed? I would be surprised if this processor doesn't support hardware decoding so How To Enable/Disable Hardware Video Decoding In Steam [Tutorial]Using hardware acceleration can be quite useful for any computer user. 265 decoding (which helps reduce network bandwidth). All trademarks are property of their respective owners in the US and other countries. Reply reply I installed Steam Link on Quest 3, and when I connected to my computer, it shows"streaming VR requires HEVC hardware encoding". Steam Link does have hardware encoding that works with all 3 GPU brands. Client: Steam Link public 456 Network: Fully Wired (0 % loss from this) Client Options: fast, Hardware Encoding enabled, 720p forced resolution in both steam/steam link I have a "slow decode and sometimes convert" warning, every time i start my link (then it quickly dissapears). 2. After ending the remote Enable NVIDIA Hardware Optimizations: Once optimized, Steam Link latency comes to within one frame of GameStream. 15. Beautiful provides the best quality video compression but requires a steady 30Mbps connection. The question is what are your settings for ENcoding and what does your hardware do. Disabling hardware decode seems to work around poor video quality during remote play with the Steam client. If i set hardware encoding ON, then I am not able to stream to steam link anymore and I tried to set hardware decoding OFF and after a game it`s set back to ON automatically. This usually results in magnitudes better performance although the quality and compatibility of the encoders do come into question. 3 in the future if it doesn't get solved on standard SteamOS. 16 (libva 2. DonArturo. As I said: in the screenshot there's software encoding (4 threads) and that's why you have low framerate. ISSUE Hello, everyone. Is it possible to also disable hardware decoding in the steam link app? I get really washed out colors on a laptop with its integrate Intel graphics. Which is best for Steam Link encoding\decoding, CPU or GPU? I have an i7 Sandy Bridge and Nvidia Geforice 970. I've installed the following packages that you didn’t link into the steam folder but /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu. Since /r/steamlink is private and potentially inactive, this is a place to discuss and share your experiences with the Steam Link hardware and Steam In-Home Streaming! I was probably drunk and replying to the first half of the post where he asks if the hw decoding is any good. tl;dr software encoding = moderate - high CPU load hardware encoding = very low - low Only thing is it has a slight micro stutter that I don't experience with my hardware Steam Link. So all told these days for streaming to wireless client, 36-68ms depending on device and app preference. the steam link diagnostic reports 0% packet loss, on the 5G connection. Trying to stream from my PC to my Steam Link device and by gosh is it laggy (playing The Binding of Isaac). Disable Hardware Decoding Within Steam. The term refers to bo This is with hardware encoding enabled on the host. Play around with hardware decoding settings. I own a original steam link hardware. So it might be a bit of a noob question but should I enable hardware encoding in host and enable hardware decoding in client or should I leave them both unchecked My needed specs i7 4790 R9 290X. Is there a way to force the steam link to do hardware encoding and decoding? (the settings are on, but it randomly chooses its own encoding) *This is not true, I just If I disable HEVC, the option is enabled and I can select hardware or software decoding. 4 Hardware decoding has been turned on. . There are some compression artifacts. Added a setting for the player LED for DualSense controllers; Remote Play. I got a Steam Link for Christmas, and actually have use for it. In the Steam client or Big Picture Mode, open the settings menu Hi, I have been experiencing latency of what feels like ~1/4 second when using Steam Link on a Pi 4 Model B. So it is time for me start informing myself. Steam Link: lower latency than AMD Link, same level of compression artifacts, sometimes even more. I plan to upgrade in the next 2 month my gpu. In most cases, NVIDIA hardware encoding performs better than software encoding, and software encoding performs better than AMD hardware encoding. All rights reserved. AFAIK, Steam Link only had hardware decoding, not hardware encoding. I've had not so great results on the macos clients(x86), both the steam app itself and the steam link app, neither of which seem to support HEVC. I don't think you'll get Chrome with hardware decoding since Google doesn't do Linux builds with support for that. Looking at the graphfor performance the red line was going up, then down and again going up. Unfortunately, I ran it again, and I'm sorry to say that using hardware decoding (both with HEVC enabled and disabled) still has contrast/brightness issues. Another setting to check is that both "Use NVFBC capture on NVIDIA GPU" and "Enable hardware encoding on NVIDIA GPU" are enabled under Settings -> Remote Play -> Advanced Host Options. I'm streaming using an old device, and the 1. Thank you. If you have issues with The current Steam OS Preview v3. SHIELD Configuration: Steam Link What I am experiencing are periodic multi second lag spikes where the image on the Steam Link completely freezes for 5-7 seconds, I have tried switching on and off hardware decoding and all other settings in the IHS menu. 4 Preview update lacks hardware video en- and decoding. The only solution was Uncheck Enable Hardware Decoding https://ibb. So one could really reduce my script to removing the symlinks from the Steam folder but I’m already done and happy with my What makes this even more interesting is that the Steam Link flatpak actually performs much better than the native Remote Play, but the capture seems to be slightly more blurry. I’m actually fairly content with Moonlight on H. the new 3. Any thoughts? My decoder is always marvel hardware decoding < > Steam version: 1709846872 AMD drivers version: Adrenalin 24. If I switch off the hardware-encoding these spikes will not come up anymore. I only see "libavcodec software decoding with 4 threads" in the decoder section of the detailed streaming info. Steam Subscriber Agreement | Cookies. It runs better on my newer Apple TV 4K than in does on my older Apple TV 3rd gen only because the newer ones have H. Funny enough, using the steam link app (installed through Discover in desktop mode) does not have the same issue even though the client side settings are all the same as the Steam Overlay. It doesn’t allow you to allocate bandwidth more than 75Mbps. I use a TP-Link AC1200 router. It's very noticeable. I'm running Fedora 34 (although it shouldn't matter that much in case of a Flatpak-packaged software) on a laptop with an 8th gen Intel processor, running sway (Wayland-based DE) -- ordinarily, I have no issues with Steam link will be the pefect solution because i will not have to move anything and the pc will stay as it is on my desk . It seems that only the video stream is buggy since both audio and input work. i was initially getting a black screen but after turning off hardware decoding on both my host and client, steam big picture finally showed. In the Steam client or Big Picture Mode, open the settings menu © 2025 Valve Corporation. 8 version defaults to using DXVA2 hardware decoding, but it changed to D3D11 in 1. What exactly is "Hardware Encoding" for the host PC (or "Hardware Decoding" for the client for that matter)? What does it do, and how does it impact my performance? Yea that’s what I figure. Hey folks, Thanks for putting this Flatpak together. if you have an igpu (intel uhd or ryzen vega), you can set Have you checked your settings on the link since you disabled hardware decoding? For me it always just resets to ticked and the decoder always reads as "marvell hardware decoding" I got a couple 100 Mini PC's to hook up to my TV's to do Steam Remote Play and unfortunately I am not getting hardware decoding with either the stand-alone Steam Link application or within Steam itself which is giving horrible playback issues. Across several games everything is just way too dark and over-saturated. Hardware Decoding: Off PC Settings;—— Play audio on host: Disabled Change desktop resolution to match streaming client: Enabled Dynamically adjust capture resolution to improve performance: Enabled Use NVFBC capture on NVIDIA GPU: Enabled Enabled hardware encoding: Enabled (on NVIDIA GPU only because i have a 2060) —- Hey, I've had great success with the steam link iOS apps on an iphone/ipad(even running above 60hz at native res on the ipad). txt? This will tell us what version of Android you're using Using the Steam Link app from Mac App Store, on a MacBook Air M1 macOS Ventura, I'm getting no hardware decoding. :D Just for laughs, I wanted a comparison with the steam link, remembering the shitshow it was the last time I tried it. This is a bit confusing, so the next update will make that option always available. Installing libva-utils and running vainfo shows this: vainfo: VA-API version: 1. 4. The CPU's only job is to then transfer that frame over the network. So, yeah, no changes at all on my end. The steam link hardware decoding has a worse quality of the image compared to the steam client. From my googling I found that maybe 4th gen and back does not support 265 hardware decoding, but I was unable to find a support matrix to tell you when they added native support. I made a TON of searches and found a bunch of stuff which I tried, such as enabling NVFBC Capture, limiting the resolution to 720p, enabling hardware decoding Extremely dark when streaming via steam link or to another pc As stated in the title, when I stream the game to my tv via steam link In those cases I find changing the Hardware Encoding/Decoding host/client options in the In-Home Streaming preferences screens helps. Has anyone else noticed this same issue? I've moved on to moonlight for the time being, as the latency and picture quality is substantially higher, compared left to right. I don't know if anyone else is suffering the same issue but colours when using Steam remote play to stream from my PC are waaaaaay off for some reason. But my guess is that the 265 is being software decoded so it occasionally becomes My desktop and the Steam link is hardwired to my router. Does not bypass UAC, so if a game requires it, you need to move you ass to the physical computer. 04, steam client May 15, 2020, on an intel i7-8559U. It doesn't matter if I use nvenc, nvfbc, or software encoding. So i sideloaded steam link on my fire stick 4k, which i have connected to a 4K receiver (denon x1400), which is hooked up to a 4K projector (benq tk800). With hardware decoding disabled, it works without any problems. RTX 4080, i9-12900k, Acer Predator XB273K Display. Haven't had any issues with the preview build yet. My old device performs Why is the Steam Link app so shitty (it forces software encoding and has some weird decoding on the Nvidia Shield*), while Moonlight uses Nvidia encoding and Nvidia decoding. Software decoding: Everything runs smoothly, but the colors and Game Stream / Moonlight works alot better than Steam Link with nv hardware. What exactly is "Hardware Encoding" for the host PC (or "Hardware Decoding" for the client After reading a thread about problems with flickering screen which I have, the solution was to disable hardware encoding on the host PC and disable hardware decoding on the Steam Link. Hardware Decoding off: Perfect contrast, decent latency, no steam overlay, including the one when you press the steam button. Steam Link Hardware has fixed limitations due to non-programmable, average decoding on phone is 11ms, not sure on Shield right now. HEVC is also turned on. Some time ago and today I noticed that Afterwards I went to "Steam - Settings - Interface" and turned off "Video Hardware Decoding", restarted Steam and that fixed video playback on Steam too (always for 1080p @60 FPS videos). A pi is not going to have the hardware. 1: no change) Games tested: GrandBlue Fantasy Relink, The outer wilds, Monster Hunter World Card used: 7900XTX OS: Windows 10 22H2 Hardware encoding enabled on the server side for AMD/AMF/VCE. Now i have new Hardware and also new problems ;) Host PC: Ryzen 5 2600 + RX 5700 XT + Full HD 144Hz Client: Raspberry Pi 4 + Android 9 4K OLED TV If i stream via my wired network i have absolute no problems to stream until 1080p. Plug a controller, mouse, or keyboard into one of the USB ports on your After some investigation, I noticed that in game mode, the Steam Deck uses a hardware decoding method called "vaapi tiled hardware decoding", but in desktop mode and the steam link flatpack, the deck uses "vaapi drm hardware In your case, the 2080 ti does have a hardware HEVC encoder, and the Nvidia Shield can decode it no problem, so turning it on is likely the better option in your case. i was trying to play yakuza like a dragon and for some reason the streaming started skipping frames. Good Luck! #1. It does not come into factor for the gameplay, it is dedicated chip for this use only. Issue: No matter the client settings (resolution, bitrate, HEVC or not Ubuntu 20. Before the last update, I noticed that the Steam Link pushes back huge amounts of data to the gaming PC (~70mbit/s) while 1920x1080, output size: 1920x1080 [2015-11-03 15:48:20] >>> Client video decoder set to Marvell hardware The next version of Steam Link for Windows is now available. Steam and the link are updated public build, beta works the same way. Why is this happening while Moonlight with hardware decoding is fine? Even Steam Link app in desktop mode works well. Popcornhour, Xtreamer, Chromecast, SmartTV; it also has hardware decoding, but i wouldnt call it a GPU. The Steam Deck hardware doesn't support AV1 decoding, so it being available in Remote Play is a bug, which will be fixed in the next Steam Client release. 264 via DXVA2 or D3D11VA with the proper drivers installed. I use an AMD RX 5700 with the latest drivers (20. 0) vainfo: This also breaks the hardware accelerated encoding for what it's worth, for example when using the Deck via Steam Link, With hardware decoding, the same settings would always take 8 ms or less to decode, which resulted in perfect 60 fps with no additional lag. 684746] CLIENT: Got control packet k Hi. My computer is a Hello there, I have a Steam Deck LCD model. Specifically: The "Hardware Decoding" Hardware encoding/decoding is when the GPU encodes the frame into H264 using dedicated hardware. I’ve noticed that if I use hardware encoding latency is about 35-40ms, The hardware encoding decoding chip is seperate on GPU. Unfortunately the in-home streaming behaviour is covered by constant spikes during encoding every 0. This issue only occurs with two flatpak apps that I know of, Moonlight and Chiaki. Nov 16, 2015 @ 1:13pm Hardware I'm doing my best to optimize my streaming performance from my PC to my Steam Link, and it doesn't help that the In-Home Streaming settings can be vague about what they do. 1 (tested with 23. 12. I guess idk what the improvement is like to warrant a new device that supports HVEC. Enabling or disabling hardware encoding can improve the quality of your stream depending on the graphics card you own. AMD Link: latency is OK, noticeable on some games. Launch said app, and get a hardware decoding error, such as it not being detected or available. I hope you find a solution. Because US software patents seem to be involved, it's uncertain whether Valve can fix this. This issue occurs with the beta and production release of Steam. New streaming stats: Encoder: Desktop NVFBC Streaming Graph: No spikes on dark blue bar Since /r/steamlink is private and potentially inactive, this is a place to discuss and share your experiences with the Steam Link hardware and Steam In-Home Streaming! The devices processor will be handling the video decoding, faster devices will let you decode higher res streams with acceptable latency. Hi, in steam link client advanced settings you can check/uncheck "Enable Hardware Decoding". Click Steam -> Settings -> Remote Play, and select Unpair Devices under Computers & Devices. i have both the PC and Steam Link on Wifi, but do not get any packet loss on either. Hope this helps. I have Hi, first of all: Thank you for the ability to stream my games around my house! I'am using it now since 2016. Chat. Set up Steam Remote Play again by re-pairing the device and trying Remote Play again. So, this new test is with the only Steam Link app I found on the Steam Deck. Crossing my fingers I don't have to factory reset, but I've been noticing small issues with remote play on steam deck even when I was using it regularly a few months ago. Just tried to turn on or off hardware encoding and decoding. The Intel N300 uses the Alder Lake-N generation Gracemont cores and has integrated UHD Graphics 770. My PC specs are: CPU: AMD FX-8320 Eight Core Processor 16 GB Ram [√] Enable hardware decoding [ ] Display Performance Information I have also tried disabling V-SYNC. But to my surprise, it's great now, The two overlay keys won't work, the in-game Steam and quick access menus don't work for me with hardware decoding off. Click Confirm on the pop-up. performance isnt really a big concern there, its not a game, but still I This Doesn't Even Account For Use Of STEAM Link, Which Can Also Effect Picture Quality, Causing It To Even Further I stream from rtx3080 to intel integrated laptop graphics and got the best color by leaving hardware decoding enabled in steam remote play client and setting intel graphics to full range rather than limited range in the intel I am experiencing an issue with Steam Link on my Intel N300 device running Ubuntu 24. And one . Jan 22, 2022 @ 7:49am The third delay in question I'm using Steam 'Remote Play' on M1 Air (client) from a NVIDIA machine running Linux (host). 264 but there’s just this input delay from controller that makes playing feel off. I use my PC to stream to the Steam Link app on my Apple TV. Power your Steam Link with the power adapter, plug in to a display device (HDMI), and connect to your home network. Moonlight (using Gamestream) shows an average decoding time of 1. Describe the bug Everytime I try to play through Steam Link, Steam crash and my stream device come back to Steam Link Queued 110 ms, clearing audio stream [2024-02-05 20:32:22][164. Just got my OLED model today and have been playing around with it. Edit: ok, found out eventually that the Hello everyone, I noticed that the Steam Link App only shows a black screen while using Steam on my laptop as a client works just fine (both Windows 10 & Fedora 34). 684736] >>> Client video decoder set to Android texture hardware decoding [2024-02-05 20:32:22][164. And yes, this DOES mean that you can now play whatever you want on the Steam Deck, assuming you have a remote computer that can run the games, and a really fast network connection. The Moonlight AppImage does not have this issue. I just wanted hear from AMD users how good Steam Link works with hw encoding for them. Once I did that, I re-confirmed that I was using both Hardware Encoding and Hardware Decoding on my Steam Link, and saw that my game was now correctly using the nVidia H. Essentially it comes down to this-Pros : SOLVED: Disabling hardware decoding fixed the issue. ekctrop qbkgd xwnkp iuijrj ysodu ghys pgca jsxtnomh gjpnix fakvbb